“50% Should Be Paid Back”: R57k Drilling for Borehole Water Ends in Tears, SA Astonished
- An emotional woman shared a post detailing the amount she lost while trying to install a borehole in her premises
- She explained that she stopped trying at 150 meters as she ran out of cash on a TikTok video that went viral
- Social media users flooded the comments section, sharing their own stories about dry boreholes, with others advising her to demand her money back
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Source: TikTok
A young wife from Nelspruit who spent over R50,000 on a failed borehole project turned to social media to share her frustration and heartbreak.
The clip was shared by TikTok user @cindy.zungu on 18 March 2026, where it sparked a massive debate about how the borehole industry works and the payments involved.
The woman shared a video of the borehole truck in operation, drilling down to a low level in search of water. She captioned the video detailing that she paid R57,280 for the labour.
Woman shares dry borehole disappointment
In the comments section, she followed up with an explanation saying that a pre-assessment was done and that it was explained that it was not 100% accurate. TikTok user @cindy.zungu had to stop at 150 meters as she had run out of cash. The woman also explained that she would not be getting any of the money she paid back.
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Watch the TikTok video below:
SA reacts to the dry borehole post
The post gained massive views and comments from social media users who were stunned to hear of her money loss. Many viewers asked if the company had done geophysical surveying first before drilling a borehole, saying they should have picked up that it was dry. Some advised her to let them continue digging further than the 150 meters, cautioning, however, that it would cost her more. Others felt that she needed to get back at least 50% of her money, as she had not received what she paid for.
Source: UGC
User @Thandeka Dlamini said:
"They're supposed to first check before digging 😭."
User @Paul Sethokga commented:
"We offer geophysical surveying before drilling a borehole. With geophysics, we can tell the maximum depth of your proposed borehole and the water strike depth."
User @norox added:
"Let them continue digging up, but know that the price will be higher."
User @zuks explained:
"MaZulu, I am not a geologist or drilling contractor, but I have done this work for over 11 years. They are right, you pay for a dry borehole as well. It happens many times, even water affairs' guidelines allow this simply because no machine can confirm there's water in that particular spot or area, they use geological maps to check dykes, faults, etc., with aerial photos together with some machines. So there's nothing wrong with you paying this, even the contractor will work as he paid for diesel casing, accommodation, food, etc. in that dry borehole. I drilled a lot of boreholes in those 11 yrs."
User @Mama T shared:
"My dad paid R75,000. Let them dig deeper."
User @keevin.za said:
"At least 50% should be paid back."
3 borehole-related articles
- In an article previously reported by Briefly News, a woman shared a video showing how she looked before using borehole water and how her skin got ashy and itchy afterwards.
- A young husband gave a detailed breakdown of the R58 298 borehole project on his farm, leaving many viewers grateful for the share.
- A devoted daughter had her mother jumping up and down in excitement after surprising her by bringing borehole installers to begin the process.
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Source: Briefly News
